Second Impressions
by Sailor Ronin Usa-chan
Summary: Usagi travels to the final battle scene of Beryl for a chance at clarity and stumbles on something she didn't expect.
1. Default Chapter

Author Notes: I'm aware I vowed that I wouldn't write another non crossover fic without finishing Kiss of the Enemy first but... I was rereading Blood Moon (the fic tha inspired me to believe that Usagi and Mamoru don't always have to be together... and I decided to write a tribute sort of piece to it. The coupling... shall be a surprise... ah and before I forget I've changed Sentaku it's now located at www.sentaku.smcrossover.us and submissions are accepted for alternate couplings from the canon (not just Sailormoon but basically all anime, books, movies, etc... if it gets bigger it'll have to cut down but for now just about anything is accepted) as for 'Kiss of the Enemy' ? It will be worked on soon, I've got some plans for the next chapter.

* * *

**Second Impressions:  
Prologue - Encounter in the Snow**

The cold wind sent a chill through her bones and made her wonder if she had lost all traces of sanity. What was she doing out here in the middle of no where? A sneeze caught her unaware and she shuddered as she burrowed deeper into the fuzzy black parka she had picked up. At least she had been smart enough to remember how cold this place was... 

With a sigh she raised her hand to shelter her eyes from the raging snow storm and studied the horizon quizzically. There was no sign of that long ago battle... No proof that her and her friend's blood had been shed on the icy white layer. 

Considering that her dear Mamo-chan had enrolled into a local college for her sake, she felt... guilty. On one hand she wanted to keep him to herself and not allow him to study over in America, but on the other hand she knew his education would probably be better over there. 

As a gust of wind nearly tore off her hood she shrieked and forcefully kept the barrier up. She had come here in memory of that day. As a reminder of the strength she had managed to show... She wanted to show that power again and tell her beloved that he had her permission to go off and study. She wanted him to be happy more than anything else... But try as she might, she couldn't get the courage to tell him this. A part of her wanted to lock him away and bond her to him forever. She realized it was childish and not altogether healthy, but she was terrified history would repeat itself and she would lose him again. It was enough to crush her. 

A dim sparkle of light caught her attention and she stumbled through the snow drifts towards it as her teeth clattered from the cold. She couldn't stay out here too much longer or she would freeze to death on the spot! She staggered to the small sparkle and paused as she realized the snow wasn't as stiff or as packed in that spot. As she continued her stubborn trek she become conscious that the snow was all together gone beneath her feet! 

A little scared now, she slowed her dogged pace and glanced back at the path she had made. Snow had swallowed up her first few footsteps and only the melted areas showed any signs of someone's passage. If anything happened, she would be alone. She had been lucky to make it here in one piece, she didn't want to wander too far away from her solid landmarks that she had earlier marked on a map, or she could be forever lost. Closing her eyes and searching for that well of strength inside, she felt herself smile as she managed to grasp it and let the warmth overtake her. It was only a little further, she was destined to be a queen one day and she couldn't be a queen if she was a frozen Popsicle so she should be fine. 

The object was starting to come into view now. It wasn't as anything as grand as Usagi had first hoped for or expected. She had risked getting lost over oversized pieces of ice. Her features turned into a scowl of annoyance and she cautiously glanced back the way she came. If she hurried she would be able to make it back to her temporary camp before dark. Her plane didn't return to Japan until the next day so as long as she got back to camp she'd be perfectly happy. 

She turned to go when she noticed something odd about the pieces of ice... They were colored. One was a dull golden color at top and a drab sort of gray with red lines zigzagging through it. The other was an odd silver or white hue on top with the same gray, but instead of red the lines dashing through it seemed to be an icy blue. Considering that the only thing around was snow, how did these icicles gain colors? 

Sweat was starting to gather at the base of her neck and with a little whine Usagi shimmied out of her winter gear before exploring further. Why was it so hot in this spot? The storm didn't even seem to reach her considering the fact that it was melting from some sort of barrier. Her fingers itched to call her friends and have them deal with this potential problem but... Hadn't the entire reason she came here been for inner strength? How was she to be stronger if she was always relying on her friends? They couldn't help her send Mamo-chan away to America. With a resolute sigh she ungloved her hand and cautiously touched what she presumed to be ice. 

Warmth seemed to radiate from that block into her. An odd sort of warmth that seemed to encompass her entire being and vague memories flitted through her mind. They were so hazy and quick she wasn't even sure what they were of, only that they seemed to be filled with pain. She tried to pull her hand away and break the contact but it only served to increase the sensation and now she realized these weren't her memories... or thoughts. What was going on here? "Let me go!" she demanded as she pulled with all of her strength. She was a fool for journeying without her precious senshi! The memories, thoughts, emotions or whatever they were was becoming painful. She felt her body start to shake and she struggled even harder. "NO! Moon Eternal Power... Make UP!" her scream echoed over the vast white lands and when it faded a panting heroine was curled on the ground and nearly sobbing. What was that? 

The snow started to roar as it seemed to cascade in the rapidly cooling spot. The storm had picked up and Usagi felt like she was caught in a whirlwind. She screamed in fear and fell to the ground huddling in a ball as she broke into uncontrollable shivers. She was freezing, and the snow wasn't stopping! At this rate she was going to get buried! 

The snow ceased blanketing her and she paused to glance out of the mound that had already built up around her. The snow was still blinding her so all she could make out was a silhouette directly above her. A human silhouette... It was natural that she opened her mouth, and started to scream. 

Glazed blue eyes tried to focus on the screeching banshee and finally managed the feat. He brushed an unsteady hand through his shoulder length stringy blonde hair and slowly surveyed the screaming woman. Something at the back of his mind buzzed as he saw her multi colored short skirt, but the wings that arched from her back didn't ring any bells at all. Who was she? All he had known for so long was pain and suffering... He had been destined for an eternity of torture, and all because of a failed mission that he only dimly recalled. 

Usagi finally had to pause for breath and got a closer look at the confused man in front of her. For some odd reason he gave her the creeps and she felt as if she should recognize him... He did kind of remind her of a foreign version of Yuuichirou with the fact he had all this hair everywhere and it was obscuring his eyes... but there was something beyond that. "Hello?" she cautiously whispered as she got to her feet and tried to get a better look. The glint of a golden button threatened to blind her and she squinted away and focused on red lines that emphasized his uniform... "Jadeite?" the name fell from her lips before she was even aware of it and those glazed over eyes instantly focused on her. 

Why did this girl recognize him? She resembled someone in his mind, but he wasn't sure of the name anymore... He had known it once, long ago. Now though? His mind was like a sieve, it was probably because he had been locked in that endless half sleep for so long. As memory of that curse came back to him another followed, a much more important one, "Sailormoon..." Jadeite swayed in place and nearly collapsed to the ground. He hadn't used his muscles for so long that they felt like water. It was a miracle he had managed to stay standing for as long as he had. 

Usagi shivered as a particularly icy blast hit her and fidgeted nervously as she watched one of her greatest enemies fall to the powdery snow. It was amazing how fast the stuff seemed to build up once that odd barrier was gone... She thought about leaving him there, letting the man freeze to death out here in the middle of nowhere for all the suffering and fear he had made her go through in years past. Usagi sighed; she knew she couldn't do such a heartless thing to anyone. She had forgiven Galaxia after killing her friends off one by one... surely she could find room in her heart to help Jadeite out of here. "Give me your hand," she softly requested before standing up and offering her gloved hand. "We should get out of here before we freeze... then we'll talk." 

Jadeite started to nod before he noticed the other giant icicle. "What's that?" he didn't trust his former enemy, she had been the reason he had been locked away... well her and that idiot queen; speaking of which... "Where's Beryl?" it surprised him that he hadn't even thought of adding a term of respect to that term. What was going on? He tried to distract his attention by getting a closer look at the ice and his eyes widened beneath his blonde fringe. "Kunzite?" 

"Kunzite?" the feminine squeak came from Usagi as she forgot all about her former enemy and focused her attention on the greater threat. "What is Kunzite doing here? He died! I saw him die!" Hysteria was starting to line her voice but she ignored it as she stared stunned at the block. Why were her former enemies out here in the middle of no where? Did this mean Beryl was around? Her color drained and she sank to her knees as she swallowed hard. 

Jadeite tore his gaze away from the senior member of his group as he studied the heroine. Memories that had been almost forgotten swamped him and he was forced to his knees as they hit him one after the other. Sailormoon, no he had found out her name before he had been sent to his hellish prison... Tsukino Usagi... the reason he had suffered for so long. With his eyes shining with a demonic light and his teeth bared in a primal snarl he all but growled at her, "I'll kill you for what I went through!" 

Usagi couldn't stop the sudden trembling of her limbs, no matter how hard she tried. "This can't be happening," she whimpered as she stared up at the furious Jadeite. A part of her realized if she didn't do something he could attack her, but seeing him made her remember a time when she couldn't cope without the senshi. When she had failed in defeating him and had only heard his laughter. What if he was still stronger than her? 

For a moment sanity slowly came back to Jadeite. He took a deep calming breath but his fury still simmered. She wasn't the same girl he remembered, she had grown while he had been locked away and he had apparently missed several key events. "Free him," he softly demanded as his eyes locked on hers. "I want answers and I don't trust you." 

He wanted her to free Kunzite? Was he insane? Slowly she pushed herself to her feet and cautiously approached the imprisoned king. Considering these might have been her last few moments on Earth her thoughts were surprisingly calm. Or at least calm enough to be prepared for the unbearable heat as her fingertips pressed against the icy cold stone. 

She wasn't sure if it was because of her transformation, or if there was a genuine difference, but what she felt while touching the block couldn't be compared to what she had went through while touching Jadeite's prison. 

An icy chill rolled through her hand and to the rest of her body. She could feel features on her face slowly freezing and her mouth felt like she had stuck it onto a frozen pole. She could even feel the feathers arching from her back being weighed down with ice. She struggled to breathe but only produced a soft whimper of distress as she vainly struggled to break her hold. She could see Jadeite watching her with hate-filled eyes from the side and tried to call out for help only to find that she couldn't even lift her tongue anymore. Her eyes bulged with effort to escape and she made a raspy strangled noise before she fell to the ground hard while choking. 

Icy gray eyes examined the trembling heroine for a long moment. Of course he remembered her...Slowly, so as not to scare the trembling girl he grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet. She was terrified of him; it was well warranted considering the circumstances of how they had last parted but... With his eyes locked on hers he slowly knelt to the ground on one knee. "Serenity-hime," he whispered as he clenched his cold fingers into a fist and struck his chest in a salute. 

Jadeite blinked sharply and stared in stunned amazement at his senior before he heard the words. "Serenity-hime?" he demanded as his cheeks flooded with color. The last time he had heard that name had been when Beryl had killed the princess in the Moon Kingdom... Slowly with his eyes full of lingering doubt, he too knelt to one knee and bowed his head. "Serenity-hime... if you are her," he softly added casting a suspicious glance to the man to his right, "my life is yours."

* * *

_May 6, 2004_


	2. Chapter Two

_Author Notes: First of all a big THANK YOU to my Oneechan, Eternal Sailor M. She edited this for me and informed me of my ellipses fetish I seem to have. In all honesty this chapter is kind of slow with not much happening, but it has a few set up points that will make sense later on in the story._

* * *

**Second Impressions: Chapter Two**

Usagi blinked at them, not sure if she had heard correctly or not. "Why are you doing this?" she whispered, stunned as she glanced around warily. She couldn't let her guard down for a second, no matter what these two said. What if Beryl was still around and managed to attack Usagi before she was prepared? Everything would be ruined. "Aren't you Beryl's men?" she demanded, as she finally pulled her attention back to the still kneeling men.

"Beryl's?" The sneer came from Jadeite, his stormy blue eyes seemed to bore holes through her. "We belong to Endymion-sama... A long time ago we were tricked into the service of Beryl." He paused and glanced around the snowy landscape. "Where are we? And where is Beryl anyway?"

"We're at the North Pole - and I defeated Beryl over four years ago." She instantly had their attention and felt herself turn red from their scrutiny. "Did Beryl really trick you two? Were the others tricked as well?" She dimly remembered the others. They would always be a part of her memories, but they somehow seemed to pale in comparison to the enemies she had fought over the years.

"It happened back when you still had a Kingdom, Serenity-hime," Kunzite interjected with a faint frown. He hadn't been aware he had been locked away for such a long time. And hearing that Usagi had defeated Beryl... It was a little more than he could take. "She turned us on our prince and we helped destroy the moon." As for your other questions, Nephrite and... Zoicite..." His tone gentled for the space of a heartbeat as memories seemed to wash over him. "They were deceived as well." He felt his fist clenching, and cursed his inability to stamp down his emotions. He had wanted to be the one that killed Beryl. He had wanted the woman to suffer for what she had done to him and to Zoicite.

Usagi felt horrible and avoided both sets of their hard gazes. Whatever Beryl had done to them must have been awful. It was as if a layer of hard ice had built around each to protect them from something she couldn't quite see. "But... I saw you die, Kunzite," the names felt strange on her tongue, considering she hadn't spoken them in so long. "How are you and Jadeite still alive?"

"I didn't die. I was hit with my own weapon, but that wasn't enough to kill me. I returned to Beryl to tell her that you had discovered about the attack on the Moon Kingdom. Then she sentenced me to the same punishment as Jadeite suffered... eternal sleep."

"Eternal sleep?" Usagi echoed, her eyes acquiring a dreamy look. At first she thought how wonderful it must be before the full impact of their words hit her. Eternal meant forever, which meant that they had been sentenced to sleep forever. "That doesn't sound like too bad of a punishment... you two had nice dreams, ne?" It was the only bright spot she could think of from such a sentence.

"Nice?" Jadeite's snarl forced Usagi to take a step back, and her fingers curled around her brooch. "Serenity-hime, imagine being asleep and having countless nightmares you can't escape. The worst parts of your life flashing through your mind constantly and not being able to look away...We were locked away in that sort of hell for over four years." He brushed a stray hair that had blocked his eyes as he studied her. How had this girl defeated Beryl? It didn't make sense. "Where is Endymion-sama?"

"Mamo-chan?" Usagi echoed with a frown as ripples of unease spread through her. She wanted to believe these two, but what if they were using her to get to her Mamo-chan? "He's not here. He's back home." She doubted either knew where Mamoru was so it should be safe... she hoped. She was prepared for either or both of them to vanish and go track down her love, but both merely glanced at each other.

"It's odd that Endymion-sama has left your side. Serenity-hime, why are you out here in the middle of nowhere? What were you searching for?" Kunzite had a feeling that the girl hadn't known about them. She wouldn't have been so shocked and stunned if that had been the case. "This is a long way from Japan."

"I'm searching for something..." In order to distract herself from her own problems, she studied the two closely. They had seemed scarier when she had been merely fourteen. "If you two were deceived by Beryl into working for her, why do you still remember me? Weren't all those memories erased?"

Jadeite scoffed at the question. "Erased? Hardly! I still remember you staring up at me and trembling in fear because your pathetic little tiara didn't work and bounced off my shield..." He opened his mouth as if to say more but shut it with a barely audible click. She didn't need to know everything about his past.

A chill struck Usagi, and she took a step backwards. She remembered the day, the sheer hopelessness she had felt. Could these two really be trusted? Considering the way Jadeite's lip had twisted as he called her attack pathetic, she was beginning to think she would be better off hiking through the snow and getting back home. "But," she protested as she took another step backwards, "how come you still remember that? Doesn't that make you my enemy?"

"None of our memories of you were erased, hime," Kunzite had noticed the slow retreat and was faintly frowning at it. "Rather, our memories of Endymion and Serenity were fully unblocked..." He cast a wary glance at Jadeite, who seemed lost in thought, "Does Endymion-sama know that you're here?" He remembered his prince; the man wouldn't have let Serenity stray from his sight.

"He knows I took a trip," Usagi admitted as she stopped her steady withdrawal and relaxed slightly. Maybe they weren't going to try to sacrifice her in Beryl's name. "I told him I needed time to think before I gave him my answer..." Her voice trailed off as she stared out over the powder fresh snow. She still wasn't sure if she had the courage to tell her Mamo-chan to leave her so he could have a better life. She wanted to hold him close and never let him go.

Kunzite's attention was drawn to the dimmed enthusiasm of the girl. It was more than odd that Endymion had left her to travel by herself. Then again it was also true that Tuxedo Kamen and Endymion were one and the same, a fact he still couldn't comprehend, considering the personalities of the two men were so different. Perhaps this 'Mamo-chan' of hers was yet another facet of his personality?

"We should check the area," Jadeite cautioned as he tore his mind away from his thoughts. "We have to make sure that there are no more traces of Beryl or her minions." If he and Kunzite had managed to survive, who else could have? The thought irked him as he imagined Beryl sentencing more people to his fate. He had seriously believed he would die in that never-ending nightmare. For that alone, he was thankful to the slip of a girl that had rescued him, even if she was Sailormoon and Princess Serenity.

Usagi tried to digest all this information as she trailed after the two in their search. She wouldn't have the first idea where to look so it was fine with her to be behind the others. She just desperately wished that they wouldn't turn on her and attack her once they realized they had her trust. She wanted to believe in them, but they had been evil before...

"We're not going to find much in this light," Kunzite observed with a faint frown. The sun was sinking fast, and soon they would be left in the darkness. "We should set up a small camp for the night." He glanced at Usagi as he said those words, and noticed her wince. So, she still didn't trust them? It was a shame Beryl had corrupted the lot of them so thoroughly; if the girl knew about her past, she'd feel a lot differently. She probably didn't even believe their truth about being Endymion's guards. "Unless you'd like to continue?" His question was a measured one to test her level of trust. If she didn't begin to trust them soon, they could run into problems once they were reunited with their Prince.

Warily, Usagi let her eyes roam across the landscape. She had almost forgotten how cold it was in the midst of her worries about those two. She didn't remember much from school, but she did know it got even colder at night than it did in the day. "We don't have any wood to build a fire," she weakly protested.

Jadeite smirked faintly, and a small fireball appeared in his hand. It didn't take much for him to clear a space in the cold slush. Kunzite seemed to understand what his comrade was doing because after a moment of concentration a small fire pit full of wood appeared. Jadeite casually tossed the fire into the pit and smiled as it greedily consumed the fodder. "You were saying, Serenity-hime?"

She bit back a frown at the name. She wanted to correct these two, tell them that she wasn't quite Serenity, she was simply Usagi, but... "Thank you," Grateful for the heat, she knelt a safe distance away from the flames and used her coat as a buffer between her and the still cool ground. Would it really be okay to sleep like this? She could imagine the fit Haruka or Rei would throw for trusting her former enemies so easily. Speaking of which, how was she going to reintroduce these two to the others? They might try to kill them before she could explain. She winced at the thought. Though she was still cautious of the two, they hadn't hurt her or seemed to have any pretense to; she was starting to trust them.

Jadeite volunteered to take the first watch so the other two could get their rest. The girl's sudden shock and faint fear didn't escape his notice. It didn't take long for her to succumb to sleep though so he wasn't forced to watch those cautious eyes for too long. She at least trusted them this much. His only comrade was fast asleep as well, and that left Jadeite all by himself. As much as he wanted to sleep, he was afraid of it.

Jadeite stared at the crackling fire as he struggled to forget the horrors that he had faced. On one hand, he wanted to get his revenge on the sleeping girl. She had caused him so much suffering... Only the memory that she was Serenity forced him to calm down. Besides she wasn't completely at fault since Beryl had needed to be taken down. Not to mention if he even harmed a hair on her head, Kunzite would make him pay for the transgression. But as he let his eyes roam to the now snoring girl, he couldn't bring himself to hate her or blame her for what had been done to him.

* * *

Usagi whimpered in her sleep, and a moment later her eyes shot open. Something was wrong. Clearing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up and quickly surveyed the area. What was going on? It didn't take long for her to find out. Jadeite was curled in the fetal position as he clutched his head and screamed. She started to get up and go to him when she saw Kunzite shake his head at her.

"I'll take care of it, hime. Try to go back to sleep." Kunzite didn't bother to check if his orders were filled out as he crouched by the screaming Jadeite. "Jadeite, you're scaring the princess," he chastised softly.

"Serenity-hime?" Jadeite's eyes weren't quite back to normal as he turned his gaze on Kunzite. "Serenity-hime is scared?" His screams vanished almost instantly as he stifled them down and took a deep breath.

Kunzite paused to glance back to assure the child was sleeping. "She's not the Serenity you remember, Jadeite." As he saw Jadeite's eyes dim in thought, he nodded to himself. "I'll take the next watch. Get some sleep. We need to get her back to civilization by the morning. I haven't seen or felt Beryl's minions' presence anywhere so I suspect we're the only ones left."

Jadeite frowned at being told what to do. "I can finish my shift, Kunzite," he all but snarled as he quickly regained his feet. Besides he had got more than enough sleep already. Those nightmares were going to haunt him forever, and he would rather guard all night than have to face them again right away. "You look like you need rest more than I do."

Kunzite quickly dropped his gaze as he felt a familiar claw of fear grab his heart. Freed in one aspect and yet still a mere prisoner in others. "Stop being stubborn, Jadeite. Get some rest and let me keep an eye on things. Your falling asleep is what scared Serenity-hime awake."

Jadeite scowled and glanced away as he felt his jaws clench. Part of him wanted to cave in and admit that he was terrified to fall asleep. What if his nightmares returned? What if he saw the death of everyone on the Moon again with him standing over them in triumph? And what if he saw what else had happened that day? The idea froze everything inside of him. He couldn't deal with those memories and thoughts. "I'm fine. Besides, you'll need the strength for your shift. I was only out for a second or so. You still have hours before you're in charge." He paused and glanced at the sleeping princess. It was funny how some things didn't change. "I'll keep an eye on her. Endymion-sama would have our heads if anything happened to her."

Kunzite nodded in wary trust and left his fellow general to the solitary watch. Unlike Jadeite, he wasn't thinking about the past but rather the future. Restoring a friendship with Serenity was all well and good at this point, but upon returning to Japan, he and Jadeite could quite easily be killed before being able to spill their tale. The other senshi weren't as trusting as their leader.


End file.
